ep1str0phy

HELL YES.

Robert Iler Jamie-Lynn DiScala Edie Falco Han Solo Indiana Jones Jack Ryan

Right on the money with the Pearson as A&R guy/producer--and yeah, a phenomenal (and underrated) composer). This is the guy who gave us 'Cristo Redentor' and 'Idle Moments.'

Pearson's small group sessions are good fun, in the least. I like Wahoo quite a bit--it rides on the energy of the ensemble (and--any way you cut it--these guys don't sound tired). Pearson was hardly an innovator--and albums like this one just smack of archetypal Blue Notisms--but there's no denying the potency of his writing and leadership. He was a fine pianist, but it's even more notable that he was capable of wrangling this sort of ensemble into something his own. And the Henderson/Spaulding duo is a favorite of mine.

Now, I would be stoked if someone bothered to reissue Black Ark--it gets tons of talk on the underground circuit (no spin for me, yet--but hey, I'm one of those guys who wasn't disappointed by Alabama Feeling, so the wait'll be worth it). Anyhow, that America Wright/Howard disc is near the top of my list (Bobby Few and Art Taylor play pretty hot, too...). -On the Howard note--wasn't he making the rounds in Europe at the time?

Picked up a copy of Wendell Harrison's A Message from the Tribe (a co-leadership deal with Ranelin)... more or less the same retinue as the other Tribe discs. Some excellent playing here--explicitly post-boppish (somewhat less 'funky' than the Ranelin discs), some soul overtones. The highlight here is Harrison, who tips into Ayler-caliber harmonics on some of the tunes. I'd caution everyone against the Scorpio CD reissue, however--the sound blows (worth it, though).

I'd sure as hell like to hear the whole shebang. That is a top flight group. Question, though--so the concert was cut after 40 or so minutes of 'Alarm,' right? What happened with the other cuts (or did they happen/get recorded on a different occasion/in a different order/at a different time)?

Yesterday: Joe Henderson: Tetragon Paul Bley: Open to Love (don't know why I was holding out...) Art Pepper: The Trip Olatunji: Drums of Passion

I forgot that the reissue's a twofer--anyhow, I think the SA half is the stronger of the two. 'Patterns' could definitely have used a wildcard...

I don't think I've ever heard anyone plug the Collier disc (Above)--but it's some excellent post-boppish stuff. Not quite the kidney of this thread, but definitely one of the more beautiful Brit jazz discs I've heard (again, very Gil Evans).

I think the rhythm section is fine... however, Howard seems to have a difficult time shepherding the music into anything truly galvanizing. It's a somewhat static-sounding, 'free' blowing album that has some excellent subtle spots. At the very least, the SA cats play great--Dyani is, as always impressive. Howard was capable of a lot more, though.

Roy Harper Lowell Davidson Mark Summers

Well, I am not a big fan of Mangelsdorff. But Brötzmann-Mangelsdorff-Bennink-Van Hove Live in Berlin '71 (FMP) is one of my favorite Brötzmann discs. But largely due to Van Hove's playing. I dunno. Get it, of course Did you get the Alarm reissue yet? Gave it one listen - very impressive. And different from other Brötzmann discs I have (30, as of last count... hardly a half of Gary's Brötzmann collection, I guess). Very highly organized music (as is obvious from the tightly notated score below) I got the Alarm reissue. The extended title piece is so tight it's almost glib--programmatic to the point of near-parody, replete with nuclear panic/saxophone barrage and all the associated mayhem. In short, this isn't the sort of transcendental skronk one would expect from a band of this caliber, but still... there's some fine stuff here. Frank Wright--whose available appearances are few and far between nowadays--is the firebreather of old (compared to the Malik CD from a while back, where his improvisations seemed strangely restrained), playing at and sometimes above the level of his peers. I'm particularly pleased to see the Miller/Moholo team on yet another recent reissue--and they smoke like hell (nice to hear that Miller is decently recorded). Also--dig the international band (Euros, an American, a Japanese man, and a couple of SA expatriates). The upside is that everyone plays into the scenario; it's fun, if unextraordinary. And the Wright tune at the end is wonderfully slight (in a good way).

Yeah--saw this one on DG, thought it looked interesting. Don't care how you cut it, that's a pretty tough comp (and I'll be damned if 'Simply Beautiful' isn't my favorite late-nite soul ballad... MO-TION, man. What a great cut.).

Don't know if this has been discussed (lately), but I remember some discussion a while back... looks like the long-awaited Sound Grammar album is dropping soon: Tue, Sep 12, 2006. Hopefully, this is the well-recorded 'new' quartet (two-bass) album we've been yearning for all this time... scroll down this page

I'd completely forgotten that he was on Patterns--looks like a spin is on the horizon...

It's in the same 'family' of Ornette tunes that includes 'Theme from a Symphony' (i.e., 'The Good Life' from Skies of America), 'Dancing in Your Head,' and 'School Work.' It always varies somewhat, but the common thread is that insistent eight-note, diatonic line at the beginning (repeated ad infinitum--Ornette seems pretty loose with it). It's probably his trademark theme.

Skeets McDonald Ronald McDonald Willard Scott Fred Willard Fred Anderson Mississippi Fred McDowell

No doubt--those are some tight, beautiful performances--some of the best work by all involved, IMO (especially Jackson, who comes off strong as hell).

Billy Butler Budd Johnson Herman Melville Moe Howard (B.B) Dick Smothers Don Cherry Hot Lips Page Stone Cold Steve Austin Sonny Simmons Julius Hemphill Arthur Doyle

Lovely treatment, IMO (the Jamal version, that is).

A tremendous number--I can only begin to imagine getting there. Congrats! Oh--and family, people, love first. Right on.

Eldridge Cleaver Huey P. Newton Bobby Seale

To play devil's advocate: I thought it was fucking brilliant. Yes, many of the characterizations are woefully one-dimensional; yes, the film requires a suspension of anti-capitalistic/anti-Hollywood/anti-bigandstupid predilections; yes, we're dealing with yet another variation on a nigh-exhuasted pillar of American iconology, taking its cues from prior adaptations (and those--not particularly interesting from a dramatic standpoint... now, anyway). But the film takes a few crucial chances, inasfar, at least, as concerns the central elements of the Superman mythos--which is, take it or leave it, (arguably) as much a pivot on the pop zeitgeist as our favored jazz iconology (not to demean the greats, who'd be happy to see, let alone spend the box office returns/budget of your average summer shitbuster--that's a much bigger problem, no doubt). And, as a comic fan and Superman pusher since my diaper years, I'm decidedly biased. Dramatically: the film takes a massive risk in questioning the role of Superman as a static character--yes, an iconic, symbolic figure (and christ, the Jesus overtones ring loud), but one who (in his own little narrative scheme) is seldom confounded by the forces of change. He got married in the comic books, killed--it's still status quo. Now (SPOILER--does anyone here care?) he's got a kid. His girlfriend is married. It's a hell of a dramatic pothole to circumvent (if the inevitable sequels pop up), but they've endowed the character with some legitimate conflict--nothing that will alter his position in the cultural cosmos, but enough to remind the casual fan that we are, under the proper circumstances, dealing with a character of (literally) infinite dramatic potential. Acting/Script: I like Routh's Superman, but only because I buy into the proportions of the character. I'm willing to suspend certian vital criteria in light of the fact that--really--Superman and Clark Kent are caricatures. Even in the comics. There's a life form in there--an alien, a god trying to cope with, live in a world below his powers--that's the interesting character. Routh seems to understand this (Singer does, at least)--it's in all the big beats (the romantic set pieces, the family drama), written deep into the narrative; it's arguable that Routh hits each and every one... and if you didn't notice the change from the Reeves version, then you probably weren't predisposed to look for it in the first place. -And shit, it's a superhero movie. I get my dose of Godard on the weekends. But I'll be damned if my three-year-old heart didn't skip a beat watching Superman lift a continent. Coming from a relatively young (and far less mature) member of this BBS--it's pretty cool.

He did a killer version of the title track at Yoshi's a couple of months back... my girlfriend was thrilled (even proclaimed, walking back to a late BART train, "I think I'm starting to get it!"--jazz, that is. This one may last...).